Closure latch



Aug. 11, 1970 B. SANDOR 3,523,704

CLOSURE LATCH Filed March 14, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Bela 501280? ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,523,704 CLOSURE LATCH Bela Sandor, Detroit, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 14, 1968, Ser. No. 713,156 Int. Cl. Ec 3/26 US. Cl. 292-216 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A combined intermittent and outside operating member is slidably mounted on a support for movement between first and second positions relative to the support and swinging movement relative to the support in each position. A detent for a pivoted fork bolt includes an arm engageable by the operating member upon swinging movement of the operating member in one position to release the detent from the bolt. A locking lever is engageable with a flange of the operating member to move the operating member to the second position wherein the operating member is not engageable with the arm of the detent. A bellcrank lever is pivoted on the support and is spring biased into engagement with a stop. The bolt includes an abutment engageable with one arm of the bellcrank lever to swing the other arm of the bellcrank lever into engagement with the operating member flange when the operating member is in the first position and shift the operating member to the second position. The other arm of the lever swings past the operating member flange and is held against return by the bolt abutment when the bolt moves to latched position.

This invention relates to closure latches and more particularly to vehicle body door locks of the type which are automatically placed in locked condition each time that the door is closed.

conventionally, vehicle body door locks may be keyless locked by depressing the garnish button when the door is open and thereafter depressing the outside push button as the door is closed. When the garnish button is depressed, it shifts the connecting means between the outside push button and the detent to an uncoupled position and when the push button is depressed, it shifts this connecting means out of the path of movement of the detent to maintain it in uncoupled position.

It is known to automatically place vehicle body door locks in locked condition when the door is closed. However, the various prior art structures are not adaptable to .modern production locks in a simple and expedient manner.

The door lock of this invention, in its preferred embodiment, is actuated by the movement of the bolt from unlatched to either intermediate or fully latched positions. The outside operator of the lock is shi'ftable along a fixed axis to either of two positions, one position being an uncoupled position wherein swinging movement of the operator will not actuate the detent and the other position being a coupled position wherein swinging movement of the operator will release the detent. A transfer bellcrank lever is swingably mounted on the lock frame and is resiliently biased to a predetermined position whereposition if thereafter desired without any interference from the transfer lever.

One feature of this invention is that it provides a vehicle body door lock having bolt actuated means operable upon movement of the bolt from unlatched to latched position to shift an outside operating member to an uncoupled position with respect to the detent. Another feature of this invention is that the bolt actuated means is located out of the path of the operator after movement of the operator to uncoupled position so that the operator may be moved to coupled position without interference if so desired. A further feature of this invention is that the bolt actuated means includes a transfer lever located in a predetermined position in the path of movement of the operator when the bolt is in unlatched position and movable into engagement with the operator and out of the path of movement thereof by the bolt when the bolt moves to latched position.

These and other features of the door lock of this invention will be readily apparent from the following specification and drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial side elevational view of a vehicle body embodying a door lock according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially broken away perspective view of the lock;

FIG. 3 is a partially broken away view of the lock in unlocked position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the lock in locked position; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken generally along the plane indicated by line 66 of FIG. 5.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a vehicle body 10 includes a front door 12 and a rear door .14, each of which is swingably mounted in a suitable manner adjacent its forward edge portion on the body 10 for movement between a closed position, as shown, and an open position, not shown. Door 12 is held in its closed position by a door lock, such as that shown and described in Fox et al. 3,190,682, issued June 22, 1965, and assigned to the assignee of this invention. Door 14 is held in closed position by a door lock 16 according to this invention.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2 through 6 of the drawings, the lock 16 is similar in many respect to that shown and described in Gergoe et a1. 3,149,866 issued Sept. 22, 1964, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and accordingly only those details necessary to an understanding of this invention will be particularly described. The lock includes a main frame or plate 18 which abuts the rear wall 20 of door 14 and is secured thereto by a number of bolts 22 extending into tapped openings of the plate 18. A fork type bolt 24 is pivotally mounted on a shouldered stud 26 extending between the main plate 18 and an auxiliary plate 28. Plate 28 is staked at 30 adjacent its upper edge portion to a lateral flange 32 of plate 18 and includes a lower laterally extending flange 34 which terminates in an offset bent flange 36 staked to the plate 1 8. The plate 28 further includes an offset lateral foot or flange 38, which is also staked to the plate 18. A pair of lateral flanges located to either side of the flange 34 fixedly support a stud or pin 40. A wedge shaped nylon shoe 42 is slidably mounted on the pin 40 and is spring biased outwardly of the lock or to the right, as viewed in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5.

When the bolt 24 is in latched position, shown in FIG. 5, the throat of the bolt receives the shank 44 of a headed striker pin 46 which is secured in a suitable manner to the body lock pillar 48, FIG. 4. The head of the striker pin engages the shoe 42 so that the pin is effectively trapped between the bolt and the shoe. The main frame 18 is cut away at 49 and the end wall 20 and inner panel of the door 16 are also cut away to permit the entry of the striker pin into the lock. Bolt 24 is normally biased toward unlatched position, shown in FIG. 3, by a coil torsion spring 50 which surrounds the stud 26 and has one end thereof engaging a notched lateral tab 52 of the bolt and the other end thereof engaging the detent pivot, to be described.

A detent 56 is pivotally mounted on a shouldered stud 58 secured to the plate 18 and includes a foot 60 which is engageable with either one of a pair of shoulders 62 and 64 of the bolt 24 to hold the bolt in either a latched position, as shown, or a safety position against the action of the spring 50. A coil torsion spring 66 surrounds the stud 58 and has one leg thereof engaging under a tab of plate 28 and the other leg thereof engaging a lateral leg 68 of the detent to bias the detent clockwise and into engagement with the bolt 24. The bolt 24 is located in unlatched position by engagement with a lateral tab 70, FIG. 2, of the plate 18 and the detent is located against the action of the spring 66 by engagement of a lateral offset tab 72 thereof with a rubber bumper or stop secured to a lateral flange of the plate 18.

A shaft or pivot pin 74 extends the full length of the lock 16 between the upper flange 32 thereof and a lower flange 76 thereof and provides both a pivotal axis and a shifting axis for an outside operating lever or member 78. Member 78 includes upper and lower apertured lateral flanges 80 and 82 which pivotally and slidably receive the shaft 74 to mount member 78 thereon. A tension spring 84"interconnects the member 78 and a flange of plate 18 to continually bias the member 78 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2. The member 78 is located against the action of the spring 84 in its inoperative or nonoperating position as shown by engagement of a lateral tab 86 thereof with one end of an arcuate slot 88 provided in the flange 76 of plate 18.

Member 78 is adapted to be engaged at any one of a plurality of places thereon by a push rod 90, FIG. 3, which is operated by conventional push button means 92, FIG. 1, incorporated in an outside handle 94 secured to the outer panel of the door 14. Since the member 78 is elongated vertically and extends substantially the full depth of the lock 16, the handle 94 may be positioned at various vertical places on the outer panel of the door 14 without requiring repositioning of the lock 16.

The flange 80 of the member 78 includes an upwardly offset foot 96 which is adapted to selectively engage an upwardly extending offset foot 98 of the detent 56, and a downwardly offset foot or flange 100 which is received between the legs of a forked inside locking lever 102 pivotally mounted at 104 on the plate 28. The locking lever 102 is movable between an unlocked position, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and a locked position, as shown in FIG. 5, in a manner to be described, and is selectively and alternately held in either of these positions by an overcenter type coil torsion spring 106 hooked between the plate 28 and the locking lever. The locking lever is moved between these positions by a forked inside operating lever 108 which is pivoted at 110 to a lateral flange 112 of plate 28 and straddles a foot of the locking lever. The lever 108 is connected by a shiftable rod 114 with a. conventional garnish button 116, FIG. 1.

When the locking lever 102 is in its unlocked position, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the foot 96 of member 78 is located in opposition to the foot 98 of the detent, and when the locking lever is in its locked position, as shown in FIG. 5, the foot 96 of member 78 is located above the foot 98 of the detent.

When the locking lever is in its unlocked position, depression of the push button means 92 will shift rod 90 inwardly of door 14 and swing member 78 counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 2, to move the foot 96 into engagement with the foot 98 of the detent 56 and swing the detent counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 2, to move the foot 60 thereof out of engagement with the shoulder of the bolt 24 and thereby permit the spring 50 to move the bolt to its unlatched position. When the locking lever is in its locked position, swinging movement of the member 78 will result in the foot 96 swinging past the foot 98 without engagement therewith so that the bolt remains in latched position.

From the foregoing description, it will be noted that the outside operating lever or member 78 both swings and shifts about a single vertical axis defined by the pin 74 but is effective to release the detent 56 upon swinging movement thereof only when disposed in its unlocked position of FIG. 2.

The inside operating means includes a conventional remote handle 118 which operates a shiftable rod 120' interconnecting the handle and an inside operating lever 122 pivoted at 124 on the flange 76 of plate 18 and engageable with the depending foot 86 of member 78 to swing the member. The remote handle is effective only to release the detent when the member 78 is in its unlocked position of FIG. 2.

A bellcrank transfer lever 126 is pivoted on a pin 128 which extends outwardly from the auxiliary plate 28. A coil torsion spring 130 surrounds the pin 128 and has one leg thereof hooked to a tab 132 of plate 28 and the other leg thereof hooked to the upper arm of the lever 126 to bias the lever counterclockwise of the pin 128 and into engagement with a stop or abutment 134 on the plate 28. An abutment or arm 136 extends generally laterally of the tab 60 of the bolt and is swingable within an opening 138 of the plate 28.

When the bolt 24 is in unlatched position, the locking lever is in unlocked position, as shown in FIG. 3, arm 136 is disposed adjacent the lower leg of the lever 126, and the upper leg of the lever 126 is adjacent foot 100. When the bolt moves from the unlatched position of FIG. 3 to the latched position of FIG. 5, the arm 136 engages the edge of the lower leg of the lever 126 and swings this lever clockwise about the pin 128 against the action of the spring 130. The upper leg of the lever 126 engages foot 100 and shifts the member 78 upwardly to its uncoupled position. The upper leg swings past the foot 100 of the member 78 as the member moves to uncoupled position and is located to one side thereof as shown in FIG. 5 so that the member 78 can thereafter be returned to its coupled position, if so desired, by the garnish button 116 without any interference from the lever 126. It will also be noted that the upper edge of the arm 136 is shaped to the curvature of the edge of the lower leg of the lever 126 to provide for ease of movement of the arm and lever relative to each other.

Should the member 78 be moved to the coupled position by the garnish button when lever 126 is in its position shown in FIG. 5, and the push button 92 or remote handle 118 be operated to release the detent, the boot 100 of the member 78 will swing out of the path of movement of the upper leg of the lever 126 before the upper leg swings counterclockwise as the lever 126 returns to its position as shown in FIG. 3.

Thus, this invention provides an improved closure latch.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure latch comprising, in combination, a support, a bolt mounted on the support for movement between latched and unlatched position, a detent for holding the bolt in latched position, an operator mounted on the support for sliding movement between first and second positions relative thereto and swinging movement relative thereto in each of the positions, cooperating means on the operator and on the detent engageable with each other upon swinging movement of the operator in the first position to release the detent, and motion transmitting means independent of the detent and automatically operative upon movement of the bolt from unlatched to latched positions to move the operator from its first position to its second position to move the means on the operator to a position out of the path of the means on the detent.

2. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein the motion transmitting means for the operator includes an abutment on the bolt, and a motion transmitting member mounted on the support and located between the bolt abutment and an abutment on the operator and engageable therewith to move the operator to the second position upon movement of the bolt from unlatched to latched positions.

3. The combination recited in claim 2 wherein the motion transmitting member includes a lever pivotally mounted on the support and resiliently biased to a predetermined position, the lever being located in the path of movement of the operator abutment and being engageable therewith upon movement of the bolt, the lever swinging past the operator abutment after the operator has been moved to the second position thereof to be located out of the path of movement of the operator.

4. A closure latch comprising, in combination, a sup port, a bolt mounted on the support for movement between latched and unlatched positions, a detent for holding the bolt in latched position, an operator mounted on the support for sliding movement between first and second positions relative thereto and swinging movement relative thereto in each position, cooperating means on the operator and on the detent engageable with each other upon swing movement of the operator in the first position to release the detent, a lever swingably mounted on the support and resiliently biased to a predetermined position wherein one arm of the lever is located in the path of movement of an abutment on the bolt and the other arm of the lever is located adjacent an abutment on the operator when the operator is in the first position thereof, movement of the bolt from unlatched to latched positions swinging the lever relative to the support by engagement of the bolt abutment with the one arm to move the other arm of the lever into engagement with the operator abutment and move the operator to the second position thereof wherein the means on the operator is located out of the path of the means on the detent, the other arm of the lever moving past the operator abutment when the operator is in the second position thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,993,360 7/1961 Craig 70-264 3,149,866 9/1964 Gergoe et al 292-216 FOREIGN PATENTS 250,969 4/ 1964 Australia.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner 

